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A Wikipedia monument? It's true (we're pretty sure)

Slubice, Poland, now hosts a monument honoring contributors to the free online encyclopedia. If you can't go see it for yourself, you can read all about it on Wikipedia.

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If you plan to visit Slubice, Poland, you might want to read about the place on Wikipedia first. Then you might consider showing your appreciation for the info by visiting the new Wikipedia monument there. Yes, Slubice is now home to the first-ever Wikipedia monument, according to (who else?) Wikipedia.

The fiberglass and resin monument, designed by Armenian sculptor Mihran Hakobyan, depicts the iconic Wikipedia puzzle-piece-globe held aloft by four humans. As with the iconic globe seen online, missing pieces represent the ever-expanding realm of human knowledge. The sculpture, which measures 5.5 feet inches by 2 feet by 2 feet, was unveiled last week in the city's Frankfurt Square.

Krzysztof Wojciechowski, director of the academic institution Collegium Polonicum, which the artist attended, came up with the idea for a monument honoring Wikipedia's contributors.

"I'm ready to drop to my knees before Wikipedia, that's why I thought of a monument where I could do it." Wojciechowski said.

Indeed, in its inscription, the sculpture expresses great appreciation for the many volunteers who have kept Wikipedia bursting with information on virtually every subject since its founding 14 years ago.

"With this monument the citizens of Subice would like to pay homage to thousands of anonymous editors all over the world, who have contributed voluntarily to the creation of Wikipedia, the greatest project co-created by people regardless of political, religious or cultural borders," the inscription reads. "In the year this monument is unveiled Wikipedia is available in more than 280 languages and contains about 30 million articles. The benefactors behind this monument feel certain that with Wikipedia as one of its pillars the knowledge society will be able to contribute to the sustainable development of our civilization, social justice and peace among nations."

The widely used online compendium, of course, has faced charges of spotty reliability, especially in its earlier days. Last year, Wikipedia revealed that it banned hundreds of accounts as part of an investigation into "suspicious edits and sockpuppetry" that promoted organizations or products. It has since instituted new terms of use that require volunteer editors to disclose whether they have been compensated for their contributions.

The town of Slubice funded the structure, which cost 67,000 zloty ($27,000, 21,263), according to the Collegium Polonicum.

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A Wikipedia monument? It's true (we're pretty sure)

October 28th, 2014

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Meet Fraser Hobday: The amateur goalkeeper with a bigger Wikipedia page than Neymar

An amateur footballer has become something of a folk hero on social media - after giving himself a bigger Wikipedia page than Brazilian superstar Neymar.

Huntly FC can be found in Scotland's Highland League, where they sit bottom of the table with a goal difference of minus 33.

But goalkeeper Fraser Hobday, a 19-year-old cafe worker, has posted his entire career and life story online - from his early days at primary school.

Hobday, a trainee chef, has detailed his modest achievements in a mammoth 3,271-word biography, from his days at Dunottar Primary School.

It runs through a youth career featuring six different sides, up to his time failing to keep clean sheets for Huntly and facing a penalty in his first match for the Highlanders - which he conceded.

"Fraser was involved in the Dunnottar Primary School football team from its establishment in 2005. He was picked at the first time of asking, when the school held trials for Primaries 5, 6 and 7.

"Fraser was then in Primary 5. He played consistently for three years, fielded in near enough all of the games against other schools in the Angus area of the North-East of Scotland. In Fraser's final year at Primary School, Dunnottar won the B-League."

And after stepping up to senior football, Hobday continues his tale, with some wonderful humour. It included the following details:

At his first senior club, Parkvale FC: "Coming back into form, Fraser played eight games in total, impressing in all, but didn't pick up any clean sheets."

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Meet Fraser Hobday: The amateur goalkeeper with a bigger Wikipedia page than Neymar

October 28th, 2014

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Wikipedia 'edit-a-thon' writes women into history

Web debate: Holly MacDonald (left) and Catherine Hickson at a workshop to amend Wikipedia. Photo: James Alcock

Like most students, Ira Ferris relies heavily on the internet for research. But when she turns to Wikipedia, the free, open-source internet encyclopaedia, the 31-year-old art student finds gaps.

Gaps in the information available about female artists, particularly Australian ones.

"I often find it difficult when I want to write an essay about a female artist to find enough about her online," she says.

Writing women into Wiki history: Ira Ferris (left) and Slyvia Griffin (far right) make entries and amendments to Wikipedia. Photo: James Alcock

"Women are not represented as they should be, especially artists."

On Sunday, Ferris took part in an "edit-a-thon" hosted by the Museum of Contemporary Art, where volunteers gathered to edit and expand the paucity of Wiki pages on Australian female artists.

The scarcity of information in this area is reflective of a wider gender bias for which Wikipedia has long been criticised, says Diana Smith, a female artist and member of the Brown Council, a women's art collective.

"In 2010 there was a report produced that looked at the stats on Wiki's gender distribution. It found that between nine to 13 per cent of Wikipedia editors were women," she says.

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Wikipedia 'edit-a-thon' writes women into history

October 27th, 2014

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Women and Wikipedia